Maya McFadden file photo
Principal David Diah at June 2025 graduation; will continue as principal of Wexler.
The public schools system is seeking students in need of highly individualized instruction to attend a new alternative middle school moving into the old Wextler-Grant on 55 Foote St.
NHPS Director of Student Services Typhanie Jackson is spearheading the new 6 – 8th grade school’s development this summer.
The former Wexler-Grant School is merging with Lincoln-Bassett starting this fall, in Lincoln-Bassett’s building. That leaves behind the Foote Street building, which will house the new school, which will assume the Wexler-Grant name.
Jackson is working with an interdisciplinary development team that includes Wexler-Grant Principal David Diah, who will remain as the head of the new alternative middle school at 55 Foote. He’ll be working with community service providers like the Q House, Common Ground, and the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center. The team is still developing the school’s interdisciplinary units and building schedule.
In an interview with the Independent, Jackson said the new alternative school will employ academic, social, and emotional best practices for middle schoolers to better transition to high school.
Jackson said it will offer “personalized experiences” and engaging hands-on instruction for a small body of students. While Jackson declined to say how many students the school has enrolled so far, she said she is confidently working towards the goal of having 35 students enrolled by the end of the next school year.
The personalized learning environment will encourage 6 – 8th grade students to explore college and career pathways like STEM and manufacturing before high school.
The school’s partnerships will allow for students to get individualized instruction as well as hands-on learning experiences as part of their daily schedules. Some of those partners for hands-on education will include MakeHaven and the Q House’s culinary and music production programs.
Jackson said that NHPS has already sent information to families with students whom the district has identified as a potentially good fit for the new school. The district plans to recruit through its magnet office to further get the word out and identify specific students who could benefit from the school’s setting. This new school will not, however, be an interdistrict magnet school; it will be open only to New Haven residents.
“We’re looking for students who really thrive in a highly personalized environment,” Jackson said. “I really want to flip the narrative that this is for bad kids.”
While this year the former Wexler building will be a 6 – 8th middle school, Jackson said the end goal is to increase its grades to include all high school grades in the next few years.
Two educators have been transferred to the new Wexler school: Conte special education teacher Dana Griffin and Hill Central math teacher Orlando Hernandez.
Beyond one administrator, the school’s full-time staff will include four content teachers, one physical health educator, three support services staff, and one arts educator.
The school will operate with a mastery-based approach to student grading — meaning it will move away from the traditional grading of As, Bs, and Cs to instead focus on student progression toward mastering learning objectives. Wexler’s hours will be 8:20 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.
It will also bring back career vo-tech, which is short for vocational-technical. It will be embedded in Wexler’s school day, offering practical life skill-instruction in areas like woodworking.
The goals, Jackson said, are for the school to “look at instruction in a highly engaging way” and “honoring students and what they need.”
This new school comes as the district has decided to close Brennan-Rogers School due to declining enrollment, eliminate a total of 76 teacher and central office positions, and reduce funding for athletics travel in order to avoid a previously pitched plan to lay off up to 129 student-facing school staffers. The mayor also recently proposed sending an additional $3 million to the district to help close a deficit and avoid teacher layoffs.